Tubular furniture construction



June 39, 1953 w. N. BROWN 2,643,707

TUBULAR FURNITURE CONSTRUCTION Original Filed Feb. 10, 1948 Y INVENTOR. ,rl Ewe- FIG.4-- h WILLIAM N. BROWN m BY 0 23/M 232- ATTORNEY Patented June 30, 1953 TUBULAR FURNITURE CONSTRUCTION William N. Brown, Fort Wayne, Ind., assignor to Arnolt Corporation, Warsaw, Ind., a corporation of Indiana Original application February 10, 1948, Serial No. 7,332. Divided and this application October 6, 1949, Serial No. 119,923

4 Claims.

This application is a division of my copend .ing application Serial No. 7,332, filed February 10, 1948, now issued as Patent No. 2,578,397, pat ented December 11, 1951.

The invention relates generally to the art of making furniture and has particular reference to furniture structures made of metal tubing.

Tubular metal framed furniture has long been shipped and sold in assembled condition to the ultimate retail outlet, and it has been recognized that it would be a great deal more advantageous and economical to ship and sell such furniture in knocked down or KD form to the retail outlet where it could be assembled prior to display for sale. However, such knocked down components for making up such furniture have ordinarily been difficult to assemble, particularly by workmen not possessed of special tools nor of a tubular frame structure in such a fashion that they may readily be fastened together to form a structure which will be unusally rigid and able to withstand loads or forces tending to disrupt the connection between such members.

Yet another object is to form the members making up a tubular frame chair structure with certain configurations in cross-section of the tubing employed therein to the end that these configurations may be employed with clips or separating members and connecting bolts to connect the members in a rigid and firm assembly.

Still another object is to enable tubular metal frame furniture to be assembled in such a fashion that the means for such assembly will not be discernible to the used.

Other and further objects and important features of the invention will be apparent from the following description and claims and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings which, by way of illustration, show a preferred embodiment and the principles thereof and what I now consider to be the best mode in which I have contemplated applying these principles. Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same or equivalent principles may be used and structural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the art without departing from the present invention and the purview of the appended claims. I

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a chair frame embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan view of contiguous portions of the frame members lying in the plane of the seat support and showing the manner in which the frame portions are secured together;

Fig. 3 is a perspective partly exploded view of the frame members shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a transverse section taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 5 is a transverse section taken on the line 55 of Fig. 2.

For purposes of disclosure'the invention is illustrated as embodied in 'a tubular 'metal chair frame 220. Thus, the structure 22!] consists of frame members 22I and 222 which are joined with a substantially U-shaped frame member I23, the members 22I and 222 being formed with leg portions 224, and the U-shaped member I23 being formed with upstanding portions 221 to provide support for a chair back. The frame members 22I and 222 have substantially horizontal portions 225 which lie in a common plane, the U-shaped frame member I23 having spaced portions 228 which also lie in the same plane, the spaced contiguous pairs of said frame portions being connected as indicated generall at 229. The substantially horizontal portions 226 are provided with holes I3I to enable a seat or cushion to be secured thereto, and the upright portions 221 have their upper portions formed with holes I32 whereby a chair back may be secured thereto. 1

Referring now to Figs. 2 to 5, inclusive, the fastening means indicated generally at 229 for securing the frame portion 226 and the frame portion 228 together consists of a pair of stampings 23I secured to the frame portion 226 by welding or any other convenient manner. Each stamping 23I is formed with a pair of spaced securing portions 23IS which are the portions that are welded or otherwise fastened to the face of the tube portion 226, and between these portions 23IS the stamping has an outwardly projecting U-shaped anchoring portion that is afforded by walls 23IW and a cross member 23IM that extends generally parallel to the axis of the tube portion 226 and in such spaced relation thereto that a nut 231 may be disposed between the tube and the cross member 231M. An opening 23IH is formed in the cross member 23|M so that a bolt 236 which is extended through the tube portion 228 may be engaged with the nut 23! to draw the tube portions 226 and 228 together. To fix the tube portions 226 and 228 in a rigid relation when the bolt 235 is thus tightened, the tube 228 has its inner side, that is the side that is adjacent the tube portion 226, formed in an angular or wedge shape as indicated at 228W, and at the opposite end portions of the brackets or stampings 231, arms 232 are formed having complemental notches 233 to receive the wedge surfaces 223W. Thus, upon tightening of the bolts 235, the notches 233 and the wedge surfaces 228W are engaged in a rigid relation.

The present inventionis characterized by the feature that the fastening means for holding the frame members together will be completely concealed from the casual observer, andis further characterized by complete rigidity of the connected elements even though these elements are 'of such a character as to be readily secured tcgether by unskilled workers.

From the foregoing description it will be evident that the present invention enables frames for furniture, such as chairs, to be shipped in a convenient knocked down form, the members comprising such a chair frame or the like being capable of being readily assembled by the workers in the usual retail furniture store to afford such a rigid frame.

It will be evident, of course, that the connected parts are held securely against relative longitudinal displacement as well as against relative rocking of the tubular members about the axes of the connected parts.

crushing forces incident to the tightening of the clamping or securing bolts.

Thus, while I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it

is to be understood that this is capable of variation and modification, and that I, therefore, do not wish to be limited to the precise details set forth, but desire to avail myself of such changes and alterations as shall fall within the purview of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a furniture frame structure, a pair of tubularframe members having securing portions disposed in transversely spaced side by side relation to each other, a bracket having a base extending along and rigidly secured to the inner side surface of one of said securing portions and provided at its ends with limbs extending from the base laterally of the said securing portion toward the second securing portion and having V-shaped notches formed in their outer ends, the second securing portion having its inner side portion formed with transversely extending wedging surfaces fitting into the V-shaped notches of the said limbs, the base of said bracket having a portion offset from the first securing portion midway the limbs and formed with an opening, the second securing portion being formed in inner and outer side portions with openings aligned with the opening in the said offset portion, a

Moreover, the parts are I so formed and related as to effectually resist the nut in the space between the said offset portion and confronting surface of the first securing portion, and a bolt passed through the said aligned openings and threaded through said nut and tightened to apply pressure to and firmly hold the second securing portion in the \/-shaped notches of the limbs.

2. In a furniture structure, a pair of tubular frame members having securing portions disposed in transversely spaced relation to each other, a bracket between said securing portions having a base mounted against the inner side face of one securing portion longitudinally thereof and having limbs extending laterally from the first securing portion towards the second securing portion and at their ends formed with V-shaped notches, the second securing portion having its inner side portion transversely distorted comprising wedge shaped formation for a portion of its length and fitting into the V-shaped notches, and a bolt passing through'the second securing portion diametrically thereof and ad'- justably engaged with said bracket and tightened to firmly hold the second securing portion wedged into the V-shaped notches.

3. In a furniture structure, a pair of tubular frame members having securing portions disposed in transversely spaced relation to each other, a bracket between said securing portions having a base mounted against the inner side face of one securing portion longitudinally there of and having limbs extending laterally from the first securing portion toward the second securing portion and at their ends formed with V-shaped notches, the second securing portion having its inner side portion fitting into the V-shaped notches, and a bolt passed through the second securing portion transversely thereof and adjustably engaged with said bracket and tightened to firmly hold the second securing portion wedged into the V-shaped notches.

4. In a furniture structure, a pair of tubular frame members having securing portions disposed in transversely spaced side by side relation to each other, a substantially U-shaped bracket having a base portion mounted against one securing portion and limbs extending horizontally from the said securing portion laterally thereof toward the second securing portion, outer ends of the limbs being formed with notches tapered inwardly, the second securing portion having its inner side portion seated in said notches and to wedgedly fit therein, and means for clamping the securing portions together and to efiect wedgi'ng grip upon the second securing portion by side edges of the notches.

WILLIAM N. BROWN.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,854,755 Mose] Apr. 19, 1932 2,035,403 Pyrzyborowski Mar. 29, 1936 2,172,611 Gerhardt Sept. 12, 1939 2,578,397 Brown Dec. 11, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 39,075 France June" 1, 1931 

